IPD Admission

Overview

IPD (Inpatient Department) admission moves a patient from OPD or direct admission into a hospital bed for ongoing care. NICE HMS manages the full admission workflow: bed assignment, treating doctor assignment, admission notes, and billing setup.

Admission Pathways

Pathway 1: Admit from OPD

When an OPD consultation determines the patient needs admission:

In the patient's OPD encounter, click Admit.
The OPD status changes to "Admitted."
Proceed to the admission form (details below).

Pathway 2: Direct Admission

When a patient is admitted directly without a prior OPD visit:

Register the patient if new. See Adding New Patients.
From the patient management page, click New IPD Admission.

Admission Form

Fill in the admission details:

Field	Description
Admission Date & Time	When the patient is admitted
Treating Doctor	Primary doctor responsible for the patient
Bed/Ward	Assign a bed from the available list
Admission Type	Emergency / Planned / MLC (Medico-Legal Case)
Diagnosis	Provisional or confirmed diagnosis at admission
Room Category	General Ward / Semi-Private / Private / ICU (affects billing)

Bed Assignment

NICE HMS shows real-time bed availability:

Green — Available
Red — Occupied
Yellow — Reserved / Cleaning / Maintenance

Select an available bed. The bed status changes to "Occupied" upon admission.

Admission Notes

Record the admission notes including:

Chief complaints
History of present illness
Past medical history
Vitals at admission (BP, pulse, temperature, SpO2, respiratory rate)
Physical examination findings

These notes form the foundation of the IPD chart.

Billing Setup

On admission, the billing module is initialized:

Room charges — Based on room category, calculated daily
Advance payment — Record any advance collected at admission
TPA/Insurance — If applicable, link the insurance plan for NHCX pre-auth

What Happens Next

After admission:

The patient appears in the IPD census and the treating doctor's My Patients > IPD tab.
Nurses begin daily charting (vital signs, medication administration, clinical notes).
Doctors create IPD prescriptions and progress notes.
Lab and radiology orders are placed from within the IPD encounter.

See also: IPD Bed Transfer and IPD Discharge.

FAQ

Q: Can I change the bed after admission? A: Yes. Use the bed transfer feature. See IPD Bed Transfer.

Q: How is the admission number generated? A: Each organization has an auto-incrementing IPD admission counter (ipdMaxId). The admission ID is unique per organization.

Q: What's an MLC admission? A: Medico-Legal Case — flagged for cases requiring police/legal documentation (accidents, assaults, etc.). Marking as MLC triggers additional documentation requirements.